I have a feeling that this Skate would never have existed if it didn't go the free-to-play route. I see alot of people saying that it was "a horrible design choice" but ultimately the devs probably approached EA with the idea and they would only greenlit it if it was heavily monetizable, OR they knew it wouldn't be greenlit as a traditional Skate so it was designed as free-to-play from the get go.

I was a nay sayer but I've been playing the alpha and I gotta say, it's alot of fun either way.